[1.51] Coronal Structure as a Diagnostic of the Solar Dynamo

This paper is motivated by the discovery of large-scale structures in
the distribution of twist of magnetic fields with solar longitude and
latitude. These structures are observed to persist for many solar
rotations (Pevtsov and Latushko, BAAS 27, 978, 1995; Pevtsov, Canfield,
and Metcalf, 4th SOHO Workshop: Helioseismology, Asilomar, 2-6 April
1995; Pevstov, Canfield, and Glatzmaier, Geophysical and Astrophysical
Convection, NCAR, 10-13 October 1995). The large scale of these
patterns, in space and time, implies that they are a deep-seated
phenomenon, presumably that of the solar dynamo itself. Recent
observations of twist and tilt of active regions (Pevstov and Canfield,
Yohkoh Fifth Anniversary Symposium, Yoyogi, 6-8 November 1996, and
Canfield and Pevtsov, this meeting) and the relationship between
photospheric and coronal manifestations of twist (Pevstov, Canfield,
and McClymont, ApJ 481, in press) confirm this conclusion.
The Yohkoh Soft X-Ray Telescope images from the first five years of
operations often clearly show the presence of topologically distinct
regions. We have developed and used IDL software that allows us to
identify and transfer to Carrington coordinates the boundaries of these
systems, which we identify with magnetic flux systems. In this paper
we present the results of our studies of these systems over many solar
rotations, and relate them to the previously discovered persistent
large-scale structures in the distribution of twist of active region
magnetic fields with longitude and latitude.

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